MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Buenos Aires-Brasilia axis consolidates.

Argentina and Brazil's presidents Nestor Kirchner and Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva committed their countries this Thursday in Buenos Aires to the “political consolidation of Mercosur” with the purpose of “strengthening a joint position before the world” and ratified that trade negotiations involving United States must recognize the regional block.

Earlier in the first of his two days official visit President Lula da Silva and host President Kirchner signed the "Buenos Aires Consensus", a document that conditions overseas commitments to the expansion of the two countries economies, the creation of wealth and jobs and urges "a reduction of poverty".

During the meeting in Casa Rosada (Government House) President Lula da Silva said that "Brazilian businessmen must invest more in Argentina and Argentine businessmen in Brazil", adding that "integration" of both countries and Latinamerica is not a promise, "but a daily action of every Argentine and every Brazilian".

Mr. Lula da Silva recalled that both presidents "must tackle the fact that millions of men, women and children from Argentina and Brazil are hungry".

President Kirchner called for the political consolidation of Mercosur as a "Latinamerican power block" and stressed that Argentina is betting strongly in integration with Brazil and the region, "integration with Brazil is a matter of State for Argentina".

The Argentine president also praised multilateralism, a leading United Nations role in world affairs and "a serious capitalism, not isolated from the world but with full internal sustainability".

The "Buenos Aires Consensus" ratifies the strategic option of Mercosur and decision making autonomy that will enable a more efficient action against destabilizing speculative financial flows and the contrasting interests of the more developed blocks, "amplifying our voice in world forums and multilateral organizations".

In another display of the strong coincidence of the two presidents and the political Buenos Aires-Brasilia alliance as the axis of the bilateral relation to be extended to the rest of the region, Mr. Kirchner will be present in Sao Paulo for the meeting of the International Socialist, a world gathering of Socialist parties next October 27 that also happens to be Mr. Lula's 58th birthday.

Quiet an extraordinary event since the Justicialista Party to which Mr. Kirchner belongs is a full member of the International Christian Democrats parties association.

However to counterbalance two days later, October 29, Mr. Kirchner will be one of the guests of the Latinamerican leaders meeting in Miami hosted by The Miami Herald.

The "Buenos Aires Consensus" is interpreted as the Latinamerican counter version of the "Washington Consensus" of the early nineties that sponsored open economies, private initiative, selling of government assets and globalization, an experience much rejected in the whole continent with the possible exception, to a certain point, of Chile, since most of the prosperity and stability anticipated turned into poverty and unemployment.

President Lula returns to Brazil this Friday.